I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
by chocolatequeen
Summary: Stuck in a cave in the middle of a blizzard, the Doctor and Rose find a new way to keep warm.


The play ended just as the first rays of dawn's light struck the stage, bathing the actors in a pink glow. Rose sucked in a breath and jumped to her feet along with the rest of the audience, clapping wildly.

She turned to the Doctor after the last curtain call. He was beaming down at her, the wide, goofy smile she loved so much stretched across his face.

"That was incredible!" she told him.

He bounced a little on his toes. "Worth sitting out here on a cold, December-like night?"

Rose laughed and tucked her cold nose into the folds of the blanket she had wrapped around her shoulders. "Well, we managed to stay pretty warm. And that mulled wine they served at intermission certainly helped."

The wind picked up, sod's law dictating that as soon as she said they were warm, the temperature had to drop. "I think I'm ready to go home though." She folded the blanket a few times, then slung it over her shoulders like a shawl or a wide scarf.

The Doctor took her hand and led her out of the amphitheatre. "Just a short walk through the woods and we'll be sitting in front of the library fireplace."

A few snowflakes fluttered around them, and Rose hummed happily. Snow was the perfect addition to the festive day. "And maybe we can have hot chocolate, with peppermint sticks and lots of whipped cream," she suggested.

Neither of them mentioned the fact that once again, the Doctor's landing hadn't been quite as precise as he'd meant it to be. Oh, he'd gotten them to the right planet, and even the right day, but they had a four mile walk through the woods before they could have that hot chocolate.

The Doctor swung their hands between them as they started on the path. "We could… cuddle under a blanket while we watch Christmas movies."

Rose caught the smirk he tried to hide and joined in the game. For the next few minutes, they took turns suggesting ways to get warm.

"Your turn," the Doctor said. He held a branch out of the way so Rose could duck underneath it, knocking the snow off of it in the process.

The flurry had become a steady snowfall. Forgetting about the game, Rose held out her hand and watched a snowflake melt into her soft mitten. "It's like one of those old Christmas card paintings," she said, gesturing at the forest floor which was just turning white. "Snow makes everything look so fresh and clean."

That reminded her of a question she'd had earlier. "You never told me why they sit outside before dawn in the middle of winter to watch a play."

"Today marks the first day after the solstice," he told her. "So last night was the longest night, and they stay up all night, ready to welcome the first dawn that heralds the start of the lengthening days."

Rose looked up at the Doctor. "The play, it felt like it was sort of a new year theme. Like, the whole point was that things end, but at the end of everything, there's a new beginning. Is it always like that?"

The Doctor nodded, sending a few snowflakes fluttering from his hair. "Every year, they hold a contest for playwrights to create this year's solstice play. The theme varies slightly from year to year, but it always has some kind of hopeful tone to it."

Another gust of wind whistled through the trees. Rose clamped her lips shut to hold back a shiver and watched warily as the snowflakes became larger and heavier.

"Is it just me, or is the weather getting worse?" she asked.

The Doctor sighed. "It's not just you. The temperature is dropping and the wind has picked up."

Rose's nose and cheeks stung from the cold, but she shook her head. "Yeah, I was more talking about how heavily the snow is starting to fall. Look at my blanket," she added, pointing at the crusty layer of half-melted snow forming on the soft fabric.

The Doctor groaned and raked his hand through his hair. "I was trying to ignore that, actually." He pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth, then looked down at her. "I'd suggest turning back around, but I'm more certain I can find the TARDIS in a snowstorm than anything else."

Rose looked up at him quizzically and he tapped the side of his head. With rare exceptions, he could find his ship anywhere. Providing he could actually get to her.

"Yeah, okay," Rose agreed. "Let's keep going." She took his hand and squeezed. "The faster we get home, the faster we can have that hot chocolate, yeah?"

"Oh, yes," he said, hoping she couldn't tell his enthusiasm was just a cover for his frustration and guilt.

There was over an inch of snow on the ground now, and conversation was limited to warnings to step over tree roots covered in snow, or to avoid a hole in the path. The Doctor focused half his mind on his connection with the TARDIS, and the ship answered with a warm hum. She was there waiting for them.

That kept him going, even when the storm turned into a proper blizzard and their visibility was limited to only a few feet in front of them. He could hear Rose's teeth chattering above the whistling of the wind—they had to get home.

But when they nearly stepped off the edge of a ravine because they couldn't see more than a few feet in front of them, the Doctor called a halt.

"We need to find someplace to wait out the storm," he said grimly. "There's no point in going on if we're just going to end up dead."

"Well aren't you Mr. Cheerful," Rose muttered. "All right then, how are we going to find someplace to hide in this storm?"

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver. His numb fingers fumbled with the settings, but he finally managed to get the one he wanted. "Topographical analysis," he told Rose as he scanned a complete three hundred sixty degrees around them. "It'll tell me if there are any caves nearby."

 _Come on, come on,_ he pleaded silently as he waited for the scan results. If his own hands were feeling the cold, then Rose must be nearly frozen solid. He needed to get her into shelter before she became hypothermic.

He crowed in delight when the scan registered a cave only a hundred yards from where they were standing. "This way!" he called to Rose over the wind.

The Doctor took Rose's hand and held it tight as they picked their way blindly over the rocky terrain. They were already lost in a blizzard; losing _each other_ in the blizzard would be monumentally worse.

After ten harrowing minutes, they finally stepped out of the storm into the cave. The Doctor adjusted the settings on the sonic, and a beam of blue light shone around the shelter.

"Made it!" he said, his voice echoing against the rock walls.

Rose dropped her snow-covered blanket and glanced around nervously. "Are you sure there isn't something already living here? Like, a big, hairy something that likes to eat humans and Time Lords?"

"Ah. Excellent point." The Doctor scanned the cave and breathed a sigh of relief when it came up with only the two life signs. "No, this is a completely empty cave."

Rose rubbed her hands over her arms, her teeth chattering. "G-good," she said. "I d-don't think I could have gone much further."

The Doctor looked her up and down, swiftly taking in her current condition. He swore under his breath when he saw her blue lips. "Here, let me." He took her hands first, holding them between his as he concentrated on his own body temperature for a moment.

Rose gasped, and he felt her fingers wiggle as feeling returned. "How'd you do that? I thought you were always colder than humans."

He tugged her close and wrapped his coat snugly around them both. "Superior biology. I can regulate my body temperature."

She chuckled. "That's convenient. I like it."

The Doctor felt Rose relax as he warmed her up, and he rubbed her back a few times before taking a step back. "But that only helps temporarily," he said briskly. "If we're going to get your core body temperature raised, we need to get a fire going."

Rose glanced around the empty cave, then looked at him, her eyebrows raised. "I don't see any wood nearby."

The Doctor shook his head and forced a teasing tone into his voice. "Rose Tyler, we just walked through a huge forest to get to this cave. We are literally surrounded by wood." He held up his hand when she opened her mouth. "And once I bring it in, I can dry it off with the sonic," he said, anticipating her objection.

Relief flickered in Rose's eyes. "Yeah, all right. Just don't get lost out there."

He held up his sonic. "I'll just guide myself right back here the way I did the first time."

A tiny smile finally crossed Rose's face. "All right then. What are you waiting for? I think you promised me a fire."

The Doctor waved, then took a deep breath and plunged back into the storm.

He stumbled around, waving his arms in front of him, until his fingers brushed against rough bark. Then he ran his hands up the trunk until he came to the first branch. Working his way down to the smaller twigs, he broke off several, shoving them into his coat pocket.

"Brilliantly done, Doctor," he muttered as he worked. "Oh yes, take Rose to one of the best solstice celebrations in the galaxy, but then let her freeze to death because you weren't paying close enough attention to the weather before you started for home."

He started a bigger pile of branches on the ground in front of the tree, working carefully in a circle around the trunk so he didn't lose the tree or his firewood.

All his ideas and plans for the day seemed to be slipping away from him. Ever since their foray into the parallel universe, he'd been trying to find a way to hint to Rose that they could move their relationship forward. Taking her to the Elurran First Dawn had seemed… symbolic, somehow. New beginnings and all that.

Even if he hadn't gotten up the courage to bring up their relationship, he'd also wanted to give her a nice, relaxing trip. They'd had too much trouble lately. He wanted to remind her of the incredible parts of travelling through time and space.

A blizzard did not fit in with any of his plans.

Tree branches creaked dangerously in the howling wind, and the Doctor decided he'd gathered enough wood. Feeling his way back to his pile, he carefully bent over and picked it up, then made his way back to the cave. He paid close attention to the heading from the sonic. In white-out conditions, it was easy to become disoriented and walk in circles, or the completely wrong direction.

Rose was pacing back and forth across the cave opening when he returned. "Whew! You would not believe the weather out there!" he said as he dropped the wood on the cave floor.

She spun around and wrapped him in a tight hug, which the Doctor immediately reciprocated. "Everything all right?" he asked quietly, holding her close.

She nodded and pressed her cold nose into his coat. "Just got worried you'd get lost out there," she said, the words muffled by his coat.

The Doctor's hearts clenched at the fear in her voice. He pulled back and looked into Rose's eyes, his hands on her shoulders. "I will always find my way back to you, Rose Tyler."

Her eyes widened, and the Doctor's mouth went dry. This seemed like the perfect moment to broach that conversation, but before he could find the right words, a violent shiver shook Rose's body.

"Right," he said, dropping his hands. "Time to get a fire going."

"I won't argue with that," she said. "And maybe that magic sonic-drying thing could work on my blanket and coat too?"

He smiled at her over his shoulder as he set to work on the wood. "Absolutely," he assured her. "You just wait, Rose. You'll be toasty warm in no time."

Rose bit her lip as she watched him work. She'd seen the look in his eyes a moment ago. If the cold hadn't suddenly been too much for her to stand, what would he have said?

" _I will always find my way back to you."_

She shivered again, and the line of the Doctor's shoulders stiffened. "Almost done," he told her.

Rose blinked, then she realised that somehow, he knew she was shivering again. _And he doesn't know that wasn't from the cold,_ she thought, a rueful smile on her face.

"S'all right, Doctor," she told him. "I trust you."

He didn't say anything, but she thought his back relaxed, just a little. A minute later, he gathered up the kindling and two medium-sized logs and placed them on a relatively flat spot toward the front of the cave.

"We run the risk of the wind putting it out," he told her as he used the sonic to light the kindling. "But that's better than suffocating because there wasn't enough ventilation."

Rose shuddered. "Definitely," she said adamantly.

The Doctor carefully positioned the larger pieces of wood over the twigs and the flames licked at the dry wood. "If you sit here, in between the fire and the cave entrance, maybe it'll stay going while I dry out more wood," he suggested.

Rose took his place at the mouth of the cave. The shock of the cold wind at her back took her breath away for a moment, and she huddled over the fire to get warm again.

The Doctor looked over at her, and the lines around his eyes tightened when he saw her hunched over the small fire. "I'll get our coats and the blanket dry as soon as we have enough wood."

"I'm fine, Doctor," Rose told him. When he didn't look very reassured, she changed the subject. "I thought the sonic didn't do wood," she said as he waved the tool slowly over the remaining logs.

He rolled his eyes at her, as she'd hoped. "It's not actually working on the wood right now."

She grinned, letting her tongue peek out behind her teeth. "Yeah, I figured that might be the answer. So, how does it dry things?"

"Sonic waves excite the water molecules, causing them to heat up and evaporate."

"Like a microwave," Rose mused.

The Doctor added a log to the fire, then took off his coat and laid it on the ground next to Rose's blanket and waved the sonic over them. "Exactly. Just much, much more efficient."

Rose could see little wisps of steam rising off the fabric, and just a minute later, the Doctor pulled his coat back on. "I see that."

He grinned at her, then brought her the blanket. "This will keep you warmer than that wet coat while I dry the rest of the wood."

Rose hadn't thought the damp coat was keeping her warm, but when she took it off and felt the cold bite into her back, she changed her mind. She shivered and fumbled with the blanket, trying to drape it over her back.

The Doctor took it from her and wrapped it snugly around her shoulders. "There. That should keep you warm for the moment," he said, then went back to his task.

Rose rubbed her numb cheek against the soft folds of the blanket. As cold as she was, the Doctor's concern made her feel warm straight through.

"Thank you, Doctor."

He glanced up from the pile of wood he was drying out. "What for?"

She smiled at him. "For taking care of me, like you always do."

The muscle in his jaw twitched and he shook his head. "If I took care of you, we wouldn't be here in the first place." A gust of wind blew a flurry of snowflakes into the cave. "We should have gone into town with the Elurrans and found someplace to wait out the storm."

Rose sighed. "The snow isn't your fault, Doctor. And you were the one who found this cave, so you did find us someplace to wait out the storm."

The Doctor silently piled up the dry wood against the wall of the cave. He didn't look as tense as he had before, so Rose let him think while he dried her coat.

"Come out of the wind," he invited once her coat was ready. "I think the fire is strong enough to keep going on its own."

Rose gladly shifted to the warmer side of the fire. She put her coat back on, then held out the blanket for the Doctor. "Come on," she said, shaking the end at him. "We can get nice and cosy while we watch the storm."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Don't you ever blame me for the misadventures I get us into?" he asked as they settled in by the fire. "Ever wonder what you got into when you decided to travel with me?"

He smiled when she looked up at him, but she could see the uncertainty in his eyes. _That's why he's so upset about this storm._

Rose shook her head. "Nope," she said, popping the p like he did. "When I told you I love travelling with you, I didn't just mean the fun, easy parts. I meant the trouble, too."

She bit her lip. There was more, but if she kept going, she would as good as tell him how she felt about him. On the other hand…

She took a deep breath and crossed her fingers. "It's like what you said earlier, that you'd always find your way back to me. Well… me, I'm never going to leave you."

The Doctor's mouth fell open. "Rose," he said, his voice more of a wheezy rasp.

She swallowed hard, then kept going. "I know you thought I wanted to stay behind in that other universe with that Pete Tyler, but I didn't even consider it. I wouldn't have left Mum behind like that, but even if I didn't have Mum, I wouldn't have left you."

Rose fell silent, leaving the crackling of the fire the only sound in the cave as the Doctor tried to process what she'd just told him. When he'd told Rose he would always find his way back to her, he'd meant it as a kind of commitment—that he wanted to be with her for the rest of his lives.

And if Rose used that to turn around and promise that she would never leave him, then maybe…

"Never?" His voice squeaked, and he cleared his throat while he waited breathlessly for her answer.

Rose nodded, firmly. "Never," she promised. She licked her lips, then added, "I don't think I could, really."

He reached out and gently tipped her head up so he could see her eyes. "Oh, Rose," he whispered, cupping her face in his hand. "I couldn't leave you, either."

She blinked, then shifted closer and placed her hands over his hearts. "Guess we're just stuck with each other then," she said.

The Doctor's hearts sped up when she looked at him through her eyelashes, and when she smiled coyly, he knew she could feel them. "Stuck with you? That's not so bad," he murmured.

Rose's breath caught as the Doctor leaned towards her. The moment stretched out deliciously, and she curled her trembling fingers around the lapels of his coat when she felt the soft puff of his breathing.

Then—finally—his lips met hers. Rose sighed and tried to press closer to him, tilting her head when their noses bumped. Now she could catch his tempting bottom lip between hers, worrying it gently with her teeth as her hands crept up over his shoulders.

The Doctor threaded a hand through her hair as the kiss deepened. His fingers massaging her scalp sent shivers of delight through Rose. She gasped, and his tongue slid into her mouth.

Rose returned the caress, savouring the lingering taste of mulled wine as they kissed. Her belly swooped with every brush of his tongue against hers. The Doctor's habit of licking everything had given her several fantasies regarding his tongue, and so far, he did not disappoint.

The Doctor dropped a hand to her waist and pulled her closer, until she was practically in his lap. The closer they got, the more Rose wanted to just go on kissing him forever, but her lungs were burning.

The Doctor grumbled when Rose pulled out of the kiss. Now that they were finally kissing, he didn't want to stop. But when he tried to chase her lips with his, Rose placed her hand over his mouth. He looked at her then, and desire blazed through him when he saw her red lips and heaving chest.

"Humans need to breathe," she reminded him.

He grinned and pulled her closer. "Did I take your breath away?" he asked as he pressed a line of kisses along her jaw.

Rose shivered when he started down her neck, and he pulled back quickly. "Cold again?"

"No." Rose shook her head and wrapped her arms around his neck. "In fact, I think I've found a new way to keep warm."

The Doctor blinked, then smiled down at her when he caught her meaning. "Well then, Rose Tyler." He bumped his nose against hers, relishing the way her soft giggle tickled his lips. "Allow me to continue in my official capacity as warmer-upper."


End file.
